'Spider-Man: No Way Home star Alfred Molina says he 'got teary' when Doc Ock reunited with Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man
- Alfred Molina said he "got a little emotional" during one scene in "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
- Molina said he "got very teary" when Doc Ock reunited with Tobey Maguire's "Spider-Man."
Alfred Molina said that he was moved by Doc Ock's reunion with Tobey Maguire's web-slinger in "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
"I got a little emotional, actually," Molina said in a new interview for the podcast "Household Faces With John Ross Bowie."
"There was one scene where I suddenly meet Tobey, and he kinda goes 'How are you, doctor?' And I go, 'Oh my god, it's good to see you.' I got very teary in that scene," the actor continued. "I kinda went, 'Oh shit, this is a moment.'"
"It was delightful," Molina added. "And it was, of course, delightful to see Tobey again. We did have a giggle on set about… I think I said something like, 'I'm terrified that I might be a bit too old for this.'"
Molina first portrayed Dr. Otto Octavius/Doc Ock in the 2004 film "Spider-Man 2," the second film released as part of director Sam Raimi's trilogy starring Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
In the movie, Molina's character developed a fusion-based energy source that would provide safe, renewable energy and cheap electricity for civilians. As part of his experiment, he designed four actuators that resembled tentacles and were inserted into his spine to create a successful fusion.
After the demo went wrong and Otto's inhibitor chip got fried, the smart arms overtook the scientist and began controlling him. As he became fixated on rebuilding the containment field to harness a large amount of power, Maguire's Spider-Man stepped in to foil him.
Near the end of "Spider-Man 2," Peter took off his mask and revealed his identity to Otto, who was on the brink of death. After a pep talk from Peter, Otto sacrificed himself and drowned in the river with his machinery.
Despite his character's death, Molina returned for the 2021 film "No Way Home," which marked Tom Holland's third standalone film as the web-slinger.
After a spell cast by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) went wrong, visitors from the multiverse who knew of Peter's superhero persona, like Molina's Doc Ock, entered Holland's world.
To explain Molina's return, it was revealed that he got swooped into Holland's universe just before his death in "Spider-Man 2."
Eventually, previous Spider-Man portrayers Maguire and Andrew Garfield also emerged. They teamed up with Holland's character to develop cures for the returning villains before sending them back to their worlds.
Unlike his role as the antagonist in "Spider-Man 2," Doc Ock used his knowledge to help Holland's character in his plan.
He finally reunited with Maguire's character during the film's big battle scene at the Statue of Liberty construction site. In their brief conversation, they expressed joy over seeing each other again.
In a callback to "Spider-Man 2," when Doc Ock asked Peter how he was doing, he replied: "Trying to do better."
"What makes this movie interesting and different from the previous one is that here we see the full redemption of Doc Ock, which makes me think that they may be putting him to bed," Molina said during his podcast interview.
Molina said that he was doubtful that the character would revert to his nefarious ways again, which is why he's skeptical of portraying Doc Ock again.
"I don't think that would happen," he said. "But it's been an extraordinary experience and one that I would never shortchange. It kinda made my career."